Ugeskrift for laeger
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Oct 2011
Case Reports[Icatibant is a new treatment option in life-threatening angioedema triggered by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor].
A 78 year-old woman with life-threatening angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-i) induced angioedema was unresponsive to conventional treatment with corticosteroids, antihistamines and epinephrine. She was successfully treated with icatibant licensed for treatment of hereditary angioedema knowing that both conditions involve bradykinin induced activation of bradykinin B2 receptors. Randomised, controlled trials are warranted to document the efficacy of icatibant in ACE-i angioedema.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Oct 2011
Case Reports[Pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema complicating active labour].
Subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum were first described by Hamman in 1945. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is an uncommon, self-limiting condition caused by alveolar rupture and usually results from bronchial hyper-reactivity or barotraumas. ⋯ Pneumomediastinum in labour is a rare complication to Valsalva maneuver, and it is diagnosed with a computed tomography. The most common symptoms are chest pain, dyspnea, neck pain and odynophagia.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Oct 2011
Case Reports[African Tick Bite Fever upon game hunting in South Africa].
The incident of spotted fever imported to Denmark is unknown. We present a classic case of African Tick Bite Fever (ATBF) to highlight a disease, which frequently infects wildlife enthusiasts and hunters on vacation in South Africa. ATBF has a good prognosis and is easily treated with doxycycline. The treatment should be given upon the clinical picture alone, since antibodies only reveal half of infected cases.
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Lack of awareness of cancer symptoms, cancer risk factors, and erroneous beliefs about cancer may influence delay in presentation of cancer symptoms and thereby treatment outcomes. This paper refers cancer awareness population studies (mainly from the UK) and describes associations between elements of the Health Belief Model and cancer-related health behavior. Denmark is part of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership which, inter alia, will examine whether differences in cancer survival across countries can be explained by different levels of cancer awareness and erroneous beliefs about cancer.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Oct 2011
[The complexity of the implementation of an observation and tracking chart for critical illness].
Critically ill patients on wards are identified too late. At Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus Sygehus, staff did not act appropriate to unacceptable values. The solution presented is development and implementation of a Track and Trigger System: a standardised observation chart encompassing frequency of vital signs measurement combined with a decision algorithm based on scores dictating skill level of decision-making. Educational programmes and specialist function for ward staff as well as action cards containing identification, situation, background, analysis, and advice and an airway, breathing, circulation, disability and environment approach to support clinical decision-making are introduced.